Device for dispensing ignited cigarettes



May 8, 1951 F. J. EBERHARDT ETAL 2,552,481

DEVICE FOR DISPENSING IGNTED CIGARETTES Filed Jan. l5, 1947 2 SheBtS-Sheet 1 May 8, 1951 F. J. EBERHARDT ETAL 2,552,481

DEVICE Foa DISPENSING IGNJTED CIGARETTES Y Filed Jan. ,15, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 p f p ATTOQMI Patented May 8, i951 DEVICE FOR DISPENSING IGNITED CIGARETTES Frank J. Eberhardt and Martin A. Tryon, Buffalo, N. Y.

Application January 15, 1947, Serial No. 722,142

11 Claims. l

This invention relates to a device for dispensing ignited cigarettes, and more particularly to such a device which automatically removes a cigarette from a container, ignites one end thereof and dispenses the ignited cigarette from the device.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide such a device which automatically dispenses an ignited cigarette to a position of partial ejection from the device where the user may grasp the unignited end of the cigarette and remove the same from the device.

Another object is to provide such a device wherein the operations of removing a cigarette from a container and placing it in a position to be ignited, igniting one end of the cigarette for a predetermined length of time and thereafter partially ejecting the ignited cigarette from the device, are accomplished by a single manipuiation of one manual actuating device.

Another object is to provide such a device which is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture and not liable to get out of order.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear from the following detailed description thereof, and the accompanying drawn ings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a device embodying the present invention and shown as mounted in the instrument panel of an automobile.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical elevation of one side of the device taken on line 2 2, Fig. l, with a part of the side wall broken away to expose certain of the operating parts in elevation and showing the device in a cigarette dispensing position.

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section taken on line 3--3, Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical generally central longitudinal sectional view through the rear part of the device and showing certain of th parts in a cigarette loading position.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section similar to Fig. 4 and showing the parts in a cigarette igniting position.

Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse section taken on line 6 6, Fig. 5.

Fig. 'l is a top plan view of the device shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 8 is a bottom plan view of the device shown in Fig. '7.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary rear elevation of the lower part of the device.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary enlarged vertical longitudinal section through the cigarette igniter.

Fig. 11 is a vertical transverse section taken on line |I-I I, Fig. 10.

Fig. l2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the igniter shown in Fig. 11.

Fig. 13 is a diagram showing the electric circuit employed to energize the cigarette igniter.

Referring to Fig. 1, a device embodying the present invention is shown as mounted in the instrument panel of an automobile. In this form, the device comprises a frame or casing l5 including vertical sidewalls I6 and l1, a back wall I8 and a front wall I9. The upper edges of the side walls It and l1 are formed to provide horizontal iianges 2D which are slidingly arranged in guideways 2l provided in the instrument panel of an automobile.

A container or hopper 22 for holding cigarettes is arranged within the casing l5. The hopper includes vertical sidewalls 23 which are mounted on the side walls I6 and Il of the casing in any suitable manner and inclined bottom walls 24 and 25 which incline inwardly and downwardly from the lower edges of the side walls 23 and terminate short of joining each other so as to provide an elongated opening through which cigarettes may be discharged. Arranged below the cigarette discharge opening provided in the bottom of the hopper is a channel shaped guideway 26 having vertical parallel spaced side walls 21 connected at their upper ends to the lower edges of the bottom walls 24 and 25 and connected at their lower ends by a cross part or floor 28. The guideway 2B is of suiicient width and length to receive a cigarette discharged from the hopper 22.

Means are provided for agitating or disturbing the cigarettes to prevent the cigarettes from jamming in the bottom of the hopper 22 adjacent the opening in the bottom thereof leading to the guideway 26. These means are shown as comprising a disturber member in the form of a sheet metal plate 30 hinged along one side thereof to the bottom wall 25 of the hopper and for this purpose the plate 3E! is shown as being formed to provide a pair of hook shaped ears 3| arranged in openings 32 provided in the bottom wall 25 of the hopper. The opposite or inner side of the plate 3Q is formed to provide a pair of depending guide arms 33 each of which is arranged in an opening 34 provided in the bottom wall 25 of the hopper. The guide arms 33 are curved so as to permit free oscillation of the plate it@ from the full line to the dotted line position thereof shown in Fig. 3. lTo actuate the plate 36| there is provided a rock arm 35 of off-set form having an upper part 35 and a depending part 3l, the lower end of the depending part 3l being pivotally mounted on the side wall Il of the casing as indicated at 38. The upper part 36 extends upwardly through an elongated opening 39 provided in the bottom wall 25 of the hopper 22, the extremity of the upright part 36 being preferably rounded and adapted to engage the bottom of the plate 3d.

Means are provided to oscillate or rock the rock arm 35, these means being shown as including a horizontal arm e@ one end of which is slidingly arranged in an elongated slot el provided in the depending part 3l of the off-set arm 35 and the opposite or inner end of which is suitably rigidly connected to a push rod.42.. The push rod 42 is arrangedsubstantiallyv parallel tothe guideway 26 to one side thereof and extends through an opening d3 provided: in. the.4V front wall I9 of the casing I5 so that a substantial portion of the rod is arranged. exteriorly of the` front wall, the outer extremity of" the pushrod carrying a knob 45. l

The opposite or inner end of the push rod 42 is bentl downwardly as indicated at 45 and' is i suitably pivotally connected to` aY lever 45 at a pointy intermediatek the ends thereof. The lever 46 is shown asbeing in theV form ofY a flat bar and pivotally connected. at one end as indicated at-:AIv to a support 4&3 suitably connected to the e inside of the rear wall I8.of the casing I5. A coil; spring I! is interposed between the front wall I9 of the casing I5 and the lever 55. For this purpose, the ends of the coil spring I5 are formed to provide hooks, one of which engages an eye 5I suitably secured to the inside ofthe front Wall IQofthe-casing i5 and the hook on the opposite end of the spring is received by a hole. 52 provided in one side of thelever 46 adjacent thefconnection of the vpush rod Q2 to this lever. Referring to Fig; 8, the spring 50 is under tension and constantly urges the lever 46 to rota-te in a clock-wise direction as viewedin this figure.

Means are'provided in the guideway 26 to ignite one end of a cigarette and thereafter vto move the ignited cigarette longitudinally of the guideway so as; to project the unignited end of` the. cigarette fromV one end of the guideway where. the same may be grasped andv completely withdrawn: from the guideway. Y While these means. may be vvariously constructed, the means areshown as including a slider 55-s1idingly arranged in the guide way and having vertical iiat` parallel sideswhich slidingly engage the inner surfaces of the verticalV sidewalls 2I of' the guideway anda flat bottom which slidingly engages theupper side of the floor 28 oftheguide'- way. Thefslder 55fis connected to the free end offthe lever 45 which isarranged immediately below the guideway 25. For this purposethe slider 55 carriesV a vertical ipin' or rivetl Sathehead.. of` which is arranged Vin the bottom of av vertical hole. 5l in the slider; the shank: of this rivet extending downwardly through a holeprovidedin the bottomof the slider 55, through anelong-ated slot 58' provided centrally and longitudinally in the 'licor 28- of the guideway 26 and throughl an elongated slot 59 provided in the freeendY part. of the lever 45 andextending 1ongitudinally of. this lever. The lower end of the rivet. 56r is upset so as to maintainv the operative connection of the parts. as best shown inFig. 10. VTo ignite the endV ofthe cigarette, an igniter element 60 in-theformof a iiat spiralcoil of wire is` arrangedinarecess providedin the front face of the slider 55 with the exposed side of the igniter element protruding forwardly avery slight amount and thereby adapted to abuttingly engage theend of the cigarette- The outer end of the coiled igniter element is shown as secured to the body of the slider 55 and the inner turn of the element is held by a screw BI to the forward end of a rod 62 arranged in the body of the slider. A washer 63 of insulating material is arranged between the igniter element Si! andthe bodyof theslider 55; The rod 62 extends completely through the slider 55 and is insulated therefrom by a surrounding sleeve '64 Y of insulating material arranged in a bore extending longitudinally of the slider. The rear end ofthe sleeve 64 is formed to provide an annular flange 65 which ts against the rear face of` the slider. A contact member 66 is carried on the end. of the rod 62 and is held against theY annular iiange 65 of the sleeve 64 by a nut 4S'Iarranged on the threaded rear end of the rod. The. contact member 66 is formed to provide a depending lug 68 which extends downwardly through the slot 58in the floor 28 of theguideway 2S, the lug (is beingnarrower in width-than the slot 58 and arranged therein so as not to contact either side of the slot. Y

The lug 68 is adapted to engage the hooked end of alatch member Geiwhich lis arranged below the rear part of the guideway Zir and extends longitudinally thereof and' is pivoted at its rear end as indicated' at 'IQ to the lower end of aI bracket 'II of insulatingmaterial secured to one side of one of the side walls-21 of the guideway 25, as best shown in Fig. 2. Referring tollgures-Beand 9, the lower part of the bracket II isoff-setinwardlyofthefguideway 26 softhat thelatch member SS is arranged in a vertical plane` extending through the rectilinear path of the lug 58 carried by the slider 55. Referring to Fig. 2,- it will be noted that the rear part of the guideway 26 extends inrear of the rear wall I8 of the casing I5 and the latch member 69 is substantiallyentirely arranged behind the rear [wall I8. The front end of the latch member-69 is providedl with a horizontal 'slot in which the free end of a iiat bi-metallic member 'I2'is. arranged. This bi-metallic member 'I2l extends transversely of the latch member 69- and itsoppos-ite end is twisted to provide a verticall part le bywhich the member may be securedto the rear wall' I8 of the casing I5; asl best' shown` in Fig; 9.` The vertical part 'I3 of the` bi-metallic member 'I2 is secured to the rear wall I8 in any suitable manner as by a rivet Eiland' is insulated from the rear wall I 8, blocks 'l5 of insulating material being interposed between` the parts andi the rear wall I8 for this purpose. To heat the loi-.metallic member 'I2 a heating wire 'I6 of high electric resistance Ymaterial is arrangedadjacent to the' lei-metallic member and isshown as being connectedat one end by the screw 'Il tothe part 'I3 of the loi-metallic member and the opposite end of this heating wire is connected vto a terminal" post I8 on' theV other side' of the rear wall I8` of the casing I5, the terminal post I8Y being insulated from the rear wall I8 by an insulating block 'I9'. A lead wire 89 connects the terminal post I8 with any suitable source of direct our! rent (not shown) such as the battery of: the. automobile.

Referring torFig. i2, the front ofthe slider55isy provided with a pair of forwardly projecting iingers 8i, these fingers being arranged at theV top of the slider 55 andrspaced transverselythereof and beingrounded on their upper sides. These fingers `8l hold the end of theA cigarette down in the guideway 26 so that the igniter* element I'tl'4 can properly engage the end faceaof.thecigarette-iV The front part of the guideway 26 extends forwardly of the front wall I9 of the casing l5 and the front ends of the side walls 21 of this guideway are shown as being formed to provide a pair of spring fingers 82, the outer ends of which are bent inwardly of the guideway a slight amount. These fingers are adapted to frictionally engage opposite sides of a cigarette arranged therebetween and serve to restrain the free egress of the cigarette from the guideway. The front pore tion of the floor Z8 of the guideway is provided `with a series of holes'83 for a purpose which will be hereinafter described.

Operation The operation of the device can be broken down into three steps, a cigarette loading operation, a cigarette igniting operation and a cigarette dispensing operation. These operations in the order named are all accomplished automatically by the manual actuation of the push rod `4,1.

The cigarette loading position is illustrated by full lines in Figures 2, 7 and 8. In this position of the parts the push rod 42 is in its most forward position determined by the rivet -5 engaging the front wall of the slot 5S in the floor 28 of the guideway 26, the spring 5e tending to maintain the push rod in this position. Referring particularly to Fig. 7, it will be noted that the slider 55 is arranged in the guideway 25 between the front and rear walls i9 and I8 respectively, of the casing l5. This intermediate position of the slider prevents a cigarette from dropping onto the floor 28 of the guideway 26.

When the operator moves the pushrod inwardly by pushing the knob v415 towards the front wall Iii of the casing I5, the rear end of the push rod 42 being connected to the lever It causes this lever to rotate in a counterclockwise direction against the urging of the spring 5% las viewed in Fig. 8. The operator moves the push, rod 42 inwardly of the device until the lever 4t has been moved to the dotted line position represented by the numeral 46a shown in Fig. 8. This operation moves the slider 55 from the position shown in Fig. '7 to the extreme rear position shown in Fig. 4 and thereby permits a cigarette to drop onto the iioor 28 of the guideway.

During this rearward movement of the slider 55 the inclined bottom face of the depending lug 63 of the contact member B5 carried by the slider rides over the inclined upper front face of the hooked end of the latch member 69 and in so doing depresses the front end of the latch member thereby bending the lai-metallic member 12.

After the lug (i8 passes rearwardly beyond the hooked end of the latch member 63 the bi-metallic member F2 returns the latch member to the position shown in Fig. 4.

The rearward movement of the push rod 42 also turns the rock arm from the full line to the dotted line position thereof, indicated by the numeral 35a, shown in Fig. 2. The turning of the rock arm 35 is accomplished by the rearward movement of the arm il!) carried by the push rod 42, the outer end of the arm 4U riding in the slot 4I in the depending part 31 of the rock arm. The upper part 36 of the rock arm 35 is thus withdrawn from the slot 39 in the bottom wall 25 of the hopper 22 and the plate 3i) by its own weight and also by reason of the weight of the cigarettes arranged on top thereof rotates `about its hinged connection with the bottom lwall 25 of the hopper from the full line to the dotted line position thereof, indicated by the numeral 30a,

shown in Fig. 3. The movement of the plate 30 agitates or disturbs the cigarettes and insures a flow of cigarettes to the outlet opening in the bottom of the hopper leading to the guideway 26. The cigarette is thus assured of dropping onto the oor 28 of the guideway.

The operator then releases the knob 44 and the spring 50, being under tension, rotates the lever 46 in a reverse or clockwise direction from the dotted line position tta thereof to the dotted line position thereof indicated by the numeral Mib, as shown in Fig. 8. This movement of the lever 46 moves the slider forwardly in the guideway and strips off the lowermost cigarette of the stack of cigarettes arranged in the guideway 2e, the igniter element t@ being thus brought into contact with the rear end face of this lowermost cigarette. It will be noted that the top surface of the slider 55 and hold-down fingers 8i is convexly curved longitudinally so as to permit the slider to raise the stack of cigarettes off the lowermost cigarette which is being pushed by the slider. The forward movement of the slider 55 continues until the front vertical face of the lug e8 of the contact member engages the `vertical shoulder provided on the front part of the latch member -69 as best shown in Fig. 5. Also during this for ward movement of the cigarette the front end thereof has been forced slightly between the spring fingers Si. which frictionally engage opposite sides of the cigarette and serve to main-v tain a firm contact between the rear end of thev cigarette and the igniter element 60. It will be also noted that the fingers 8! on the slider 55 maintain the rear end of the cigarette in the bottom of the guideway and insure that the rear end face of the cigarette is in proper contacting position with the igniter element 59.

As soon as the lug 3S of the contact member E@ engages the latch member 69 an electric circuit is established which energizes the igniter element for a predetermined length of time to thereby properly ignite the rear end of the cigarette. Referring to Fig. 13, this electric circuit is.` esta-blished by a current owing from a source of direct current such as a battery represented by the numeral 84, through the lead wire im to the terminal post 18, through the heating wire 7 to the screw "il, through the loi-metallic member 12 which carries the current to the latch member E9, through the Contact member 6B, through the rod 62 to the screw El, through the igniter element E6, and thence to the body of the slider 55 which is grounded in the usual mann-er, the ground return to the battery being represented by the numeral 85. As the current passes through the heating wire 13, this wire heats up and because of its proximity to the bi-metallic member 12 heats this member. The bi-metallic member 72 is so designed that upon being heated, the end thereof secured to the front endl of the latch member 69 moves downwardly thereby rotating the latch member about its pivot l! and pulling the latch member out of engagement with the lug 68 of the contact member Se. When the latch member 59 and lug 68 disengage the electric circuit is broken. At the same time the spring 56 pulls the lever it forwardly so as to rotate this lever in a clockwise direction from its intermediate position 46h to its full line position as shown in Fig. 8. rlhis forward movement of the lever 46 moves the slider 55 from its intermediate position to its most forward position as shown in Fig. 7. This forward movement of the slider 55 pushes the cigarette farther out of the guideway 26, the cigarette being pushed between the spring lngers 32 and being moved to a partially ejected position where the user may grasp the unignited end of the cigarette and completely withdraw the cigarette from the guideway.

The disengagement of the lug 58 and the latch member 69 breaks the electric circuit and the heated and downwardly bent loi-metallic member 12 thereupon cools and returns to its original position and thereby elevates the front end of the latch member.

The'holes 83 provided in the floor 28 of the guideway 26 are for the purpose oi permitting pieces of tobacco and ashes to drop therethrough andv Vkeep the guideway free of obstacles and material which might wedge between the slider 55 and the contacting walls of the guideway and thereby permit the slider to lbe freely slideable back and forth in the guideway.

During the forward movement of the lever 46 theY push rod d2 is, of course, moved back to its original position. Also, the return of the push rod 42 to its forwardmost position causes the rock arm 35 torotate from its dotted line position 35a to its upright position shown by full lines in Fig. 2. During the return movement of the rock arm 35 the upper rounded end of the upper part 36 of the rock arm 35 moves into the slot 38 in the bottom wall of the hopper 22 and is brought into engagement with the bottom surface of the plate 3@ andv returns this plate from its dotted line position Bda to its elevated position shown by full lines in Fig. 3-. The plate 3l) thus again agitates or disturbs the cigarettes in the hopper 22 and insures that the cigarettes do not jam in the bottom of the hopper.

The hopper 22 can be replenished with cigarettes by pulling the device part way or completely out ofthe instrument panel so as to eX- pose the open top of the hopper, the flanges 2i! on the device and cooperating guideways 2l on the instrument panel permitting of this sliding.

While the present invention has been illustrated as embodied in a device adapted to be mounted in the instrument panel of an automobile, the invention can be embodied in a device adapted for mounting on the steering wheel column. Further, devices adapted for desk or table use can be constructed embodying the present invention.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the present invention provides a device which serves as a containerV for cigarettes and which automatically places one cigarette in a position where one end thereof will be properly ignited and moves the ignited cigarette to a partially ejected position where the unignited end thereof is eX- posed a sufficient amount so that the cigarette may beeasily grasped by the user and completely withdrawn from the device, all of these operations being accomplished by a single manual movement of a push rod. When the device is mounted in an automobile, the driver'can operate the device without removing his eyes from the road, having merely to push a knob which sets into operation a sequence of automatic operations which delivers to him an ignited cigarette. The device is also of simple construction, not liable to get out of order and can be manufactured at low cost.

We claim:

1. A device for dispensing ignited cigarettes, comprising a Ycontainer for cigarettes and having a cigarette outlet opening, a guido-Way arranged adjacent said opening and in communication therewith and adapted to receive a cigarette discharged from said container and having a cigarette discharge opening at one end thereof, an igniter slidingly arranged in said guideway, manually actuated means for moving said igniter in said guideway to per'nit said guideway to receive a cigarette discharged from said container, means operable upon the release of said manually actuated means for moving said igniter in an opposite direction into engagement with one end of the cigarete arranged in Vsaid guideway, means stopping the movement of said igniter in said oposite direction, and means for maintaining said igniter in igniting relation with said one end of the cigarette for a predetermined length cf time, said operable means further moving said igniter in said opposite direction upon the termination of said predetermined length of time thereby to move the ignited cigarette partially through said cigarette discharge opening.

2. A device for dispensing ignited cigarettes, comprising a container for cigarettes and having a cigarette outlet opening in the bottom thereof, a guideway arranged below said opening and in communication therewith and adapted to receive a cigarette discharged from said container and having a cigarette discharge opening at one end thereof, an igniter slidingly arranged in said guideway, manually actuated means for moving said igniter in a direction away from said cigarette discharge opening to permit said guidetvay to receive a cigarette discharged from said container, means operable upon the release of said manually actuated means for moving said igniter and the cigarette contacted thereby to a position in which the free end of the cigarette partially exten ds through said cigarette discharge opening, and means interrupting the movement of said igniter toward said cigarette discharge opening and maintaining said igniter in igniting relation with the end of the cigarette contacted ther-eby for a predetermined length of time.

3. A device for dispensing ignited cigarettes, comprising a container for cigarettes and having an elongated opening in the bottom thereof through which a cigarette may pass lengthwis a channel-shaped guideway arranged below said opening and having its interior in confimrmica` tion therewith and adapted to receive a cigarette discharged from said container and having a constricted cigarette discharge opening at one end thereof and at its opposite end being extended beyond the corresponding end of said opening, a slider slidingly arranged in the bottom of said guideway, manually actuated means moving said slider to a position in the extended part of said guideway so as to permit a cigarette to drop from said container through said opening onto the bottom of said guideway, an electric responsive igniter element carried by said slider and adapted to Contact one end of the cigarette arranged in said guideway, means operable upon the release of the manual actuation of said iirst means for moving said slider toward said second opening whereby said igniter element is brought into contact with said one end of the cigarette and the opposite end of the cigarette is partialiy pushed through said second opening, means for stopping the last mentioned movement of said slider and simultaneously electrically energizing said igniter element for a predetermined length of time thereby to ignite the said one end of the cigarette, and means for releasing said slider at the termination of said time so as to permit. said slider to continue its movement toward said secphd opening, and means for stopping the last mentioned movement after said slider has moved a predetermined distance.

4. A device for dispensing ignited cigarettes, comprising a frame, a container for cigarettes mounted on said frame and having a cigarette outlet opening, a guideway arranged on said frame adjacent said opening and in communication therewith and adapted to receive a cigarette discharged from said container and having a cigarette discharge opening at one end thereof, an igniter slidingly arranged in said guideway, manually actuated means for moving said igniter to permit said guideway to receive a cigarette discharged from said container, including a push rod operatively connected to said igniter' and leading to a point exterior of said frame, means operable upon the release of said push rod for moving said igniter in an opposite direction into engagement with one end of the cigarette arranged in said guideway, including a spring operatively interposed between said igniter and said frame, means stopping the movement of said igniter in said opposite direction, and means for maintaining said igniter in igniting relation with said one end of the cigarette for a predetermined length of time, said spring further moving said igniter in said opposite direction upon the ter-- mination of said predetermined length of time thereby to move said ignited cigarette a predetermined distance through said cigarette discharge opening.

5, A device for dispensing ignited cigarettes, comprising a frame, a container for cigarettes mounted on said frame vand having a cigarette outlet opening, a guideway arranged on said frame adjacent said opening and in communication therewith and adapted to receive a cigarette discharged from said container and having a cigarette discharge opening at one end thereof, an igniter slidingly arranged in said guideway, manually actuated means for moving said igniter to permit said guideway to receive a cigarette discharged from said container, including a lever arranged below said guideway and pivoted on said frame and operatively connected to said igniter and a push rod arranged substantially parallel to said guideway and operatively connected at one end to said lever and leading to a point exterior of said frame, means operable upon the release of said push rod for moving said igniter in an opposite direction into engagement with one end of the cigarete arranged in said guideway, including a spring operatively interposed between said lever and said frame, means stopping the movement of said igniter in said opposite direction and simultaneously placing said igniter in igniting relation with said one end of the cigarette and maintaining said igniting relation for a predetermined length of time and thereafter releasing said igniter, said spring thereafter continuing to move said igniter toward said second opening, and means for stopping the movement of said igniter after said ignited cigarette has moved a predetermined distance through said second opening.

6. A device for dispensing ignited cigarettes. comprising a frame, a container for cigarettes mounted on said frame and having a cigarette outlet opening, a guideway arranged on said frame adjacent said opening and in communication therewith and adapted to receive a cigarette discharged from said container and having a cigarette discharge opening at one end thereof, a slider slidingly arranged in said guideway, an

igniter element carried by said slider and adapted to engage one end of a cigarette arranged in said guideway, manually actuated means for moving said slider to permit said guideway to receive a cigarette'discharged from said container, including a pin arranged on the underside of said slider and depending therefrom and arranged in an elongated slot provided in the bottom of` said guideway, a lever arranged below said guideway and pivotaily mounted on said frame so as to be rotatable in a plane parallel with the bottom of said guideway, lever being provided with an elongated slot in which said pin is arranged and a push rod arranged substantially parallel to said guideway and operatively connected at one end to said lever and leading to a point exterior of said trame, means operable upon the release of said push rod for moving said slider in an opposite direction into engagement with said one end of the cigar-ette and adapted to move the cigarette partially through said second opening, including a spring interposed between said lever and said frame, and means interrupting the movement of said slider for a predetermined length of time during which said igniter element is maintained in igniting relation with said one end of the cigarette.

7. A device for dispensing ignited cigarettes, comprising a container for cigarettesand having a cigarette outlet opening, a guideway arranged adjacent said opening and in communication therewith and adapted to receive a cigarette discharged from said container and having a cigarette discharge opening at one end thereof, a slider slidingiy arranged in said guideway, an igniter element carried by said slider and adapted to engage one end of a cigarette arranged in said guideway, manually actuated means for moving said slider to permit said guideway to receive a cigarette discharged from said container, means operable upon the release of said last mentioned means for moving said slider in an opposite direction into engagement with said one end of the cigarette and adapted to move the cigarette partially through said second opening, and means interrupting the movement of said slider for a predetermined length of time during which said igniter element is maintained in igniting relation with said one end of the cigarette, including a lug carri-ed by said slider and projecting exteriorly through an elongated slot provided in said guideway, a latch member adapted to engage said lug, a thermocouple member operatively connected to said latch member and adapted to effect a disengagement of said lug and latch member and means for heating said thermocouple.

8. A device for dispensing ignited cigarettes, comprising a container for cigarettes and having a cigarette outlet opening, a guideway arranged adjacent said opening and in communication therewith and adapted to receive a cigarette discharged from said container and having a cigarette discharge opening at one end thereof, a slider slidingly arranged in said guideway, an igniter element carried by said slider and adapted to engage one end of a cigarette arranged in said guideway, manually actuated means for moving said slider to permit said guideway to receive a cigarette discharged from said container, a lug carried by said slider and projecting downwardly therefrom through an elongated slot provid-ed in the bottom of said guideway, a latch member arranged below said guideway and pivotally mounted thereon so as to be rotatable about a transverse axis and adapted to s i1 engage and disengage said lug, a bifmetallic member connected to said latch member and adapted to move said latch member about its pivotal mounting in either direction and a heating wirewarranged in close proximity to said bimetallic member, said igniter element, said lug, said latch member, said bi-metallic member and said heating wire being electrically connected together when said latch member engages said lug thereby to energizev said igniter element for a predetermined length of time.

9. A device for dispensing ignited cigarettes,

`comprising a containernfor cigarettes and havingl inclined bottom Walls leading to a cigarette outlet opening, a guideway arranged below said opening and in communication therewith and adapted to receive a cigarette discharged from said container, means slidingly arranged in sai-.i guidevvay for igniting one end of a cigarette for a predetermined length of time, means for partially ejecting the ignited Cigarette from said guidevvay, and means operable lupon the movement of saidrst means for disturbing the cigarettes in said container, including a disturber member arranged adjacent said opening and hingedly connectedV to one of said bottom Walls and means for oscillating said disturber member.

10. A device for dispensing' ignited cigarettes, comprising a container Yfor cigarettes and having inclined bottom Walls leading to a cigarette outlet opening, a guideway arranged below said opening and in communication therewith and adapted to receive va cigarette discharged from said container, an igniter slidingly Varranged in said guideway for igniting one end of acigarette for a predetermined length of time, manually actuated means adapted to move said igniter., means forl disturbing the cigarettes in said container, including a plate arranged adjacent said opening and hingedly connected to one of said bottom walls, a rock arm adapted to engage the bottom oc said plate through an opening provided in said one of said bottom Walls and means operativelyconnecting said Varm Withsaid manually actuated means. Y

11. A device for dispensing ignited cigarettes, comprising a container for cigarettes and having a cigarette outlet opening, a guideway arranged adjacent said opening and adapted to receive a cigarette discharged from said container, an igniter slidingly arranged in said guideway and adapted to contact one end of a cigarette discharged from said container, meansV constantly urging said igniter to move toward one end of said guideway, means latching said igniter While said cigarette end is in igniting relation with said igniter for a predetermined length of time and operable thereafter to release said igniter 'thereby topartiallyeject the ignited cigarette longitudinally from said guideway, and manually operated actuating means arranged to move said igniter toward the end of said guidevva'y opposite to said one end thereof.

FRANK J. EBERHARDT. MARTIN A. TRYON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references 4are of record in the file of this patent:V

NITED STATS PATENTS Number Name Date 1,912,779 Landrum June 6, 1933 11,925,287 Snyder Sept. 5, 1933 A2,074,925 Krause Mar. 23, 1937 2,108,376 Copeland Feb. 15, 1938 2,216,675 Prescott etal Oct. 1, 1940 Y2,232,125 McChristian Feb. 18, 1941 2,301,305 Mayer Nov. 10, 1942 

